New Zealand's justice minister, Andrew Little, introduced a bill on Monday aimed at legalizing abortion in the country.

The new bill would change the status of abortion from a criminal issue to a health issue, according to a statement from Little. Such a move would dramatically increase access to abortions, which are currently only legal in New Zealand in cases of fetal abnormality, incest or if the mother's health is at risk.

"Safe abortion should be treated and regulated as a health issue; a woman has the right to choose what happens to her body," Little said in the statement.